“Aromatic with a hint of peach and melon … dry and crisp … it has sugar but it’s undetectable.”
The words flow with precision as Tony Dollar talks about the German-style Riesling he will produce from his Wedgwood home, specifically his single-car garage, which has been licensed by the state liquor board and bonded by the federal government as a winery.
Yes, a winery on a quiet Wedgwood street, in the 8000 block of 38th Ave NE.
Dollar, who owns the winery with his wife Diana, has begun production on three wines: the Riesling, a Bordeaux-style red and Bordeaux-style white. He’ll have two labels: Anthony Cellars, at a price point to be determined, and Lobo Hills, a secondary label producing wines in the “under-served” $8.99-$14.99 price category. He’ll shoot for producing 200 cases to start.
His white wines are expected to be ready in spring of 2011; his reds not until 2012. He’ll sell his wine by word of mouth, a soon-to-be-produced Web site and local stores. He won’t have a tasting room at his home (in order to keep it a home) but will make tastings available by appointment. Check back here at WedgwoodView.com for more information on this in coming months.
As far as the mechanics of winemaking, Dollar said he will buy grapes from Eastern Washington and have them crushed there (or crush them himself in small lots with a rented machine) and also do fermentation there. Barrel aging will occur in his garage — he has room for about four barrels (each holds about 24.5 cases). He’ll bottle it himself, store it offsite and do the selling himself.
Dollar, whose day job is in development and communications, began learning about wine after working in the hospitality field at a couple of Napa Valley wineries after graduating from San Jose State. He also wrote for a vineyard trade publication, getting to meet winemakers from across the country. In the past few years, he went through the highly regarded Northwest Wine Academy at South Seattle Community College.
Now he’s a winemaker himself. He’s already made a few bottles for block parties on his Wedgwood street. Next, look for Dollar to be highly visible at Wedgwood community events because a presence at such functions fits with the underlying reason he has decided to be an artisan winemaker.
“It’s important to me to give back to the community,” Dollar said last week over coffee at Van Gogh Coffeehouse. “And it fits perfectly with my approach to wine, which is to bring people together. I see Anthony Cellars wines as a vehicle to build community.”
